Cristiano Ronaldo has peculiarly called for Ireland fans to boo him inside the stadium when Portugal take on the Irish in Dublin on Thursday night.
Ronaldo, who now plys his trade at Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, will again captain his country as they look to seal their spot at the 2026 World Cup at the Aviva Stadium, and they are heavy favourites to do so.
That won’t stop Ireland supporters giving Ronaldo and his side a hostile reception, though, and, speaking before the game, the 40-year-old urged them to do just that.
‘The stadium will boo me, I’m used to it,’ he said.’ I certainly hope they do.
‘Maybe it will take the pressure off other players. What I want most is to enjoy myself. It’s not decisive but almost, we know that with a victory, we qualify. We want to finish it off now.’
Ronaldo was booed every time he touched the ball in the 2021 goalless draw between the two sides, which is when they last faced off in Ireland.
Cristiano Ronaldo has called for Ireland fans to boo him when their side and Portugal face off
The two sides will go head-to-head on Thursday night in Dublin with Portugal looking to seal World Cup qualification
Ronaldo saw his penalty saved by Brentford’s Caoimhin Kelleher in the reverse fixture
He later added, winking: ‘I repeat, I hope that no [one] boo[s] again against me tomorrow. For me, it’s it’s a pleasure to come in to play here again. I swear that I’m going to try to be a good boy.’
In the reverse fixture, Ireland won the game 1-0 with Ruben Neves netting a late winner. Ronaldo saw a penalty saved by Brentford’s Caoimhin Kelleher.
Ireland are third in the World Cup qualifying group – one point behind Hungary and running out of games to earn their spot in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
‘I think the game will be quite the same in Lisbon,’ Ronaldo added. ‘Of course, they play with their supporters on their side.
‘They will be more exciting, the fans and everyone, but in terms of tactically, I think we’ll be kind of the same. I think they’re not going to push too much forward. They’re going to wait for us tight, defend very tight and play counterattack.
‘I think we’ll be kind of similar the game, but we are prepared. We know it’s going to be tough because physically they are very strong, but we should do our game and try to win the game.’
